Many thanks to Jay Davis and Don Prosnitz for fascinating insights into both the technicalities of keeping a nation safe from terrorism and the role physicists may play in that effort. However, the article is written from the viewpoint that contributes to global instability—introspection without a global outlook.
Australians applaud the efforts of the US to counter terrorism. We have also suffered significantly in the past few years: Several Australians were victims of the September 11th attacks, and 89 Australians were killed on 12 October 2002 in the Bali bombings. Our troops have subsequently gone to war on several fronts in response to terrorism threats.
Terrorism cannot be stamped out simply by protecting ourselves from it or by attempting to destroy those who initiate it. Countering terrorism means tackling the political and social origins of the problem worldwide, not just understanding what the authors call the “fundamental technical basis of the threat.”
Physicists, and scientists and mathematicians in general, can contribute in an enormous way. Science has a long history of international cooperation strengthened by global communication and travel. Scientists are in a unique position to promote international cooperation. They recognize the value of their trade to society; the combination of knowledge, a common language, and the ability for ethical and moral discrimination is a force capable of breaking down political, racial, and religious barriers.
The precedents of terrorism are, I think, inequality, social suffering, intolerance, and lack of understanding. Physicists need not just concentrate on defending the potential victims of terrorism. They can develop better ways to ease suffering, reduce famine, provide more equal distribution of resources, prevent civil unrest, and accommodate the world’s diversity in our social outlook.
